Government wants more female leadership / Triumph of Death a brilliant debut / Reduced rail speeds in Sweden / Lofven meets with Tusk prior to summit / Sweden will not seek NATO membership

Government wants more female leadership
(National) The government wants to see an increase of the number of women sitting on executive boards, raising female representation to at least 40 percent per board. Companies that have not filled that quota by 2019 could face a fine of SEK 250,000 to SEK 5 million, reports TT. The proposal is pending but could become law in 2017.

Mattias Berg debut novel described as brilliant
(Culture) Triumph of Death, Mattias Berg’s debut novel, is receiving high marks in the book review community. The novel revolves around Peter Bruegel’s painting of the same name and is described as a nuclear thriller with global rehabilitation. "I do not think I've read such a philosophical, knowledge-packed, realistic adventure novel since Umberto Eco's Name of the Rose," writes Göteborg Posten's Sinziana Ravini.

Trafikverket reduces rail speeds
(Travel) Years of low maintenance has forced the Swedish Transport Administration to reduce speeds along 69 railway lines across the country. All major rail lines from Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö will be affected.

Lofven meets with Tusk prior to summit
(National) Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven met on Sept. 9 with European Council President Donald Tusk. Löfven said Europe must increase focus on creating more jobs and working on solutions for climate change. Heads of the EU are expected to meet for a summit in Slovakia to discuss border security and defense strategies.

Sweden will not seek NATO membership
(National) Foreign Minister Margot Wallström and Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist wrote in Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter on Sept. 9 that "Changing the Swedish security policy doctrine would naturally be perceived as dramatic and revolutionary ... it would have a direct effect on the security situation in our part of Europe.”

"Sweden is not seeking NATO membership," according to Swedish ministers. Margot Wallström, as the special representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, spoke at the UN in 2011.